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Saturday, February 18, 2012

The Initiation Well, In the town of Sintra

A journey of rebirth and self discovery is the concept behind the Initiation or Initiatic Well at Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra.

The 27 metre deep well, resembles an inverted tower, and depending on the direction you choose, either a journey down into the depths of the earth, or a climb out of the darkness into the light, the journey through the earth is like a rebirth through mother natures womb, from where all things come and where one day all shall return.

The owner of Quinta da Regaleira, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, was a known Freemason, and with the help of Italian Architect Luigi Manini, set about designing and constructing the four hectare estate with its enigmatic buildings, parks and tunnels which are laden with symbols related to alchemy, Masonry, the Knights Templar, and the Rosicrucians.There are obvious Hermetic/Rosicrucian connotations in the well:

'That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing'
Hermes Trismegistus

The well is divided in nine platforms reminiscent of the Divine Comedy by Dante and the nine circles of Hell, the nine sections of Purgatory and the nine skies which constitute Paradise. At the base of the well you will find a Rosicrucian Cross, which also happened to be the coat of arms of Carvalho Monteiro.

I visited Sintra about 6 years ago. Quinta da Regaleira was a beautiful and mysterious place I knew nothing about at the time, and I will never forget. I had the most amazing natural high I had ever experienced when I came out of the Well. It was so overwhelming, I felt like I was floating out of the Well into the air as if I was part of everything around me that I could see. Sounds crazy but that's how I felt!